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Introduction to Statistics CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Statistics In introducing this book to you, we assume you are a college student who is taking what is perhaps your first course in statistics to fulfill a requirement for your major or a general Chapter Outline education requirement. If so, you may be asking yourself two 1.1 What Is Statistics? questions: 1.2 Why Learn Statistics? • What is statistics? 1.3 Introduction to the Stages of the Research Process • Why learn statistics? distribute • Developing a research The ultimate goal of this book is to help you begin to answer hypothesis to be tested these two questions. {{Identifying a question or or issue to be examined {{ Reviewing and evaluating 1.1 What Is Statistics? relevant theories and research {{Stating a research Whether or not you are aware of it, you encounter a variety hypothesis: Independent of “statistics” in your day-to-day activities: the typical cost of and dependent variables going to college, the yearly income of the average college grad- • Collecting data uate, the average price of a home, and sopost, on. So what exactly {{Drawing a sample from a is “statistics”? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines statis- population tics as a branch of mathematics dealing with the collection, {{Determining how variables analysis, interpretation, and presentation of masses of numer- will be measured: Levels of ical data. When people think about statistics, they often focus measurement on only the “analysis” aspect of the above definition—that is {{Selecting a method to collect to say, they focus on numbers that result from analyzing data. the data: Experimental and However, statisticscopy, is not only concerned about how data are non-experimental research analyzed, it recognizes the importance of understanding how methods data are collected and how the results of analyses are inter- • Analyzing the data preted and communicated. The purpose of this book is to {{Calculating descriptive introduce, describe, and illustrate the role of statistics within statistics the larger research process. not {{ Calculating inferential statistics • Drawing a conclusion regarding 1.2 Why Learn Statistics? the research hypothesis • Communicating the findings DoWe believe there are a variety of reasons why you should of the study learn statistics. First, not only do you currently encounter 1 Copyright ©2016 by SAGE Publications, Inc. This work may not be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means without express written permission of the publisher. statistics in your daily activities, but throughout your life, you Chapter Outline (continued) have been and will continue to be affected by the results of research and statistical analyses. Which college or graduate 1.4 Plan of the Book school you attend is based in part on test scores developed by 1.5 Looking Ahead psychologists. You may also have to take a personality or intel- 1.6 Summary ligence test to get a job. The choices of drugs and medicines 1.7 Important Terms available to you are based on medical research and statistical analyses. If you have children, their education may be affected 1.8 Exercises by their scores on achievement or aptitude tests. Learning about statistics will help you become a more informed and aware consumer of research and statistical analyses that affect many aspects of your life. A second reason for learning statistics is that you may be asked or required to read and interpret the results of statistical analyses. Many college courses require students to read academic research journal articles. Evaluating published research is complicated by the fact that different people studying the same topic may come up with diverse or even opposing conclusions. Understanding statistics and their role in the research process will help you decide whether conclusionsdistribute drawn in research articles are appropriate and justified. Another reason for learning statistics is that it will be of use to you in your own research. College courses sometimes have students design and conduct mini-researchor studies; undergraduate majors might require or encourage students to do senior honors theses; graduate research programs often require masters’ theses and doctoral dissertations. Learning to collect and analyze data will help you address your own questions in an objective, systematic manner. A final reason for learning statistics is that it may help you in your future career. The web- site Careercast.com conducts an annual survey in which they evaluate 200 professions on five dimensions: environment, income, employment outlook, physical demands, and stress. In 2013, the highest rated profession in this survey was “actuary,”post, defined as someone who “interprets statis- tics to determine probabilities of accidents, sickness, and death, and loss of property from theft and natural disasters.” Talking about his job, one actuary noted, “I can count on one hand the number of days I’ve said, ‘I don’t want to go to work today’ . I’ve seen people come in to say thank you for the work I’ve done. That’s pretty powerful.” It is generally a good idea for students to maintain a healthy level of curiosity or even skepticism in regards to their education. However, we find that when it comes to learning statistics, the frame of mind of some students may be characterized as one of fear and anxiety. Although we understand these feelings, we hope the benefitscopy, associated with learning statistics will become clear to you and help you overcome any concerns you may have. 1.3 Introductionnot to the Stages of the Research Process Much of scientific research involves asking questions. Throughout this book, we will examine howDo contemporary researchers have asked and attempted to answer a broad range of questions 2 Fundamental Statistics for the Social and Behavioral Sciences Copyright ©2016 by SAGE Publications, Inc. This work may not be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means without express written permission of the publisher. regarding human attitudes and behavior. Below are research questions we will address in this chap- ter to introduce the stages of the research process: • Is students’ performance on tests more influenced by their learning strategies (how they learn) or their motivation (why they learn)? • Do college students and faculty differ in their beliefs about the prevalence of student aca- demic misconduct such as cheating and plagiarism? • Is the extent to which adolescents are exposed to violence in their community related to how they do in school? • Is one method of disciplining one’s children more effective than another? • Does playing online computer games affect one’s interpersonal relationships? • Does providing substance abuse treatment to drug users have an effect on safety in the workplace? How might you try to answer questions such as these? You could base your answers on your personal beliefs, or you could adopt the answers given to you by others.distribute But rather than relying on subjective beliefs and feelings, researchers test their ideas using science and the scientific method. The scientific method is a method of investigation that uses the objective and system- atic collection and analysis of empirical data to test theoriesor and hypotheses. At its simplest, this book will portray the scientific method as consisting of five main steps or phases: • developing a research hypothesis to be tested, • collecting data, • analyzing the data, • drawing a conclusion regarding thepost, research hypothesis, and • communicating the findings of the study. Accomplishing each of these five steps requires completing a number of tasks, as shown in Figure 1.1. Because this sequence of steps will be used throughout this book and will serve as the model for the wide assortment of research studies we will review and discuss, each step is briefly introduced below. It is important to understand that the research process depicted in Figure 1.1 represents an ideal way of doing research. The “real” way, as you may discover in your own efforts or from speaking withcopy, researchers, is often anything but a smooth ride but rather is filled with starts and stops, dead ends, and wrong turns. Developing a Research Hypothesis to Be Tested The notinitial stage—and the first step—of the research process is to develop a research hypothesis to be tested. A research hypothesis is a statement regarding an expected or predicted relationship between variables. A variable is a property or characteristic of an object, event, or person that can take on different values. One example of a variable is “U.S. state,” a variable with 50 possible values Do(Alabama, Arkansas, etc.). Chapter 1 | Introduction to Statistics 3 Copyright ©2016 by SAGE Publications, Inc. This work may not be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means without express written permission of the publisher. Figure 1.1 Steps in the Research Process Within the Scientific Method Develop a research hypothesis to be tested | Identify a question or issue of interest Review and evaluate relevant theory and research State a research hypothesis | Collect data | Draw a sample from a population Determine how the variables will be measured Select a method to collect the data distribute | Analyze the data | or Calculate descriptive statistics Calculate inferential statistics | Draw a conclusion regarding the research hypothesis | Communicate the findingspost, of the study Research hypotheses are usually developed through the completion of several tasks: • identifying a question or issue to be examined, • reviewing and evaluating relevant theories and research, and • stating a research hypothesis.copy, Each of these three tasks is described below. Identifying a Question or Issue to Be Examined Most research startsnot with a question posed by the researcher. These questions often come from the researcher’s own ideas and daily observations. Although this may not seem terribly scientific, there is an advantage in using one’s own experience as a starting point: People are generally much more motivated to explore a question or topic that concerns them personally.
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